SCX #2 Arlington Airport

Another race down, and it was another warm and dry (read that as dusty!) weekend.

Returning to Arlington Airport, the site of last year's state Championships, was this years second installment of the SCX series. The course was a little altered with multiple passes through a sand field that had been dumped on the grounds, but it was still mostly the same - flat long straightaways punctuated with grassy corners and dusty, bouncy forest sections.

Coming off the race from last week I thought I would be able to pull a good result here, however this past week I managed to get a cold and hadn't put in much in the way of training, so it was going to be a crap shoot. Warming up I felt good and got a good starting placement from my 5th place finish last week. After a very long 15 minutes of sitting in the start grid due to some course trouble we were off! I entered the first corner in 4th place and manged to stick with the leaders until the first trip through the sand hills (about 2/3 of the way through the lap). At this point I was just red-lined even though it wasn't that far into the course - the sickness had taken it's toll. I struggled to stay within sight of the leaders for the remainder of the race, slowly losing position as racers would sneak past and I was unable to expend more energy to stay with them.

By the start of the last lap I had fallen to 12th place but still had a decent gap to the next group. Coming into the long back drag-strips I was passed by the leaders of the master's race that had started behind us. I figured now was as good as any time to kick up the gas and leave it all on the course. I jumped into their wind-shadow and before coming back into the course we had passed one of my riders (so I was now in 11th). We cut through the remainder of the course and almost managed to catch another rider before the end. I don't remember feeling so completely spent at the end of race before, and I hope that with the sickness past I can get back on track for next weekend. The 11th place today was a little disappointing given how close I was to winning the race last weekend, however due to upgrades and riders skipping races I am 2nd overall in the series so far, so can't be upset about that!

Congrats to our Bikesale riders today -

Dave Matthews - 28th in Men's singlespeed

See you next weekend for Starcrossed at Marymoor!

MFG #2 - Lake Sammamish

The first official race of Fall, the day started rather chilly but warmed up to be quite decent for the afternoon. Lake Sammamish is a fast and bumpy course with the only big obstacle being the long stretch of beach along the coast. The key for this race was to push that big gear! From my nice start last race I got a good call-up position and heading into the first corner after the drag-strip start I was in 4th position. I held this spot until we hit the beaches and once everyone was running I managed to get past everyone and I was now leading the race!
For the next few laps I either managed to stay in the lead or I would drop back a few spots as we worked our way from one end of the park to the other, weaving through trees, over bumpy grass, and through the sand. Heading into the last lap I was still leading although I could tell there were riders right on my wheel. As we hit the sand, I was passed and was now in 3rd place. Coming out of the sand I shot past a rider and was back into 2nd as we worked toward the front half of the course. In the straight-away section passing the pits I again took the lead.
We were working our way through the single-speed field and heading toward the finish line. I was first to and through the barriers but again felt the others breathing down my neck. I was soo close to the finish! I swung around riders left and right while pushing to gain ground where I could. Finally I was into the last grass corner and heading into the paved corner heading into the finishing stretch. I came through the corner holding speed and was ready to push all the way to the line...
But suddenly the bike locked up. I had rolled the rear tire off the wheel!! The two riders who were on my wheel shot past. I grabbed the bike and started to run down the long 150 meter stretch. I moved to the gravel for more grip and still riders came shooting past, finishing both in the 3s and the single-speed class. I finally managed to cross the line, but how many spots had I lost?
Deflated from the mechanical robbing my finish I waited for the results to be posted. It had taken me a minute to run in all those last yards. My lead had faded to nothing in the fraction of a second, but luckily the ground we had gained over the others proved to be enough that even with that long and torturous run-in I managed to hold onto a 9th place finish. Not quite what I wanted, but still a respectable result that will luckily keep my call-up for next time. Now I just need to glue the hell out of that tire to make sure I am not robbed of my hard work down the road!

Congrats to our other Bikesale cross riders and their great races:
Jenny Dallas - 4th Place - Women's Singlespeed
Melissa Desimone - 15th Place - Women's Singlespeed
Irena Netik - 19th Place - Women's Cat 4
Heather Barnett - 15th - Beginners Women

Way to go! Next weekend is the long flats and dusty grass of Arlington. Hopefully we can pull some more results there!

SCX #1 - Steilacoom

Alright, SCX 1 is officially in the books! What a warm and dusty cross race (very similar feel to Finn Hill last year, breathing in dirt and sweating so much you finish with a dusty brown complexion)!
Congrats to all our Bikesale Riders:
Pam Massen - 3rd Women's Cat4 Masters 35+
Jenny Dallas - 4th Women's Singlespeed
Melissa DeSimone - 12th Women's Singlespeed
Where are all the guys on this team?

My race started a little later than anticipated due to a crash in the race before us resulting in a broken collarbone, but that is more of a freak occurrence than the norm (most cross crashes are just scrapes and cuts). Once we did get rolling it was a fast and hectic rush into the twisting dry grass. The lower section of the course was a twisting circuit of s-curves and 180s. I managed to hold onto a nice position until the first 180 degree corner when a rider crashed and blocked a few of us, but I managed to stay in the low teens through that ordeal. Once we got around the incident I was able to cut through a few more riders during the remaining twisting flats before we hit the forest section. The forest is basically a long straight stretch but it is narrow and full of loose wood-chips so passing was a little tough. This was a good place to squeeze by though, as many riders seemed to use the straight section to recollect after the hectic section before. Then after a sandy 180 degree corner you start the first half of "the climb" followed by another 180 and then a brief rest before the second half of "the climb". Through this whole section I managed to stay on the wheels in front of me and get a good run down of how the course was racing. Once we reached the top of the hill we turned into a fast downhill with loose gravel followed by a short but very technical section of curves through some trees and then a short climb gravel and dirt climb. Following that section was a rutted out dirt downhill and sharp corner heading into the paved downhill section. From here was a sharp and loose left turn off the asphalt onto rocky dirt and then some bumpy grass heading into a short sweeping section through the barns. Finally you were shot through a set of barriers into the paved starting track. By the second lap I had climbed to about 8th place and was slowly dragging my way forward. There was a particularly difficult opponent from Olympic Orthopedic who kept passing me in some of the fast straights and downhills but I managed to always cut back around him through the corners. We both worked past a group of Soft Like Kitten riders and were working toward the lead group of 4, basically trading back and forth at least once per lap. Occasionally a young rider (white/grey jersey on a red Ritchey) would pass by on the uphill section only to have us work past him elsewhere. The rest of the race continued in roughly this manner with me 6th or 7th until the last lap when we managed to get caught up to the young rider again after he had blown past with his final spurt earlier in the course (on the hill). He had worked his way into 5th and then crashed causing a backup allowing me to sweep through. I was back in 6th place heading into the last few corners. As I came around the barn, there was #5. Heading into the last set of sweeping corners I tucked under the 5th place rider and heading into the barriers managed to pull away and take it to the line! Very happy with a 5th place today as a great start to this 7 race series.
So far I am well off in both series and hopefully can pull at least one overall at the end of the season.

Check out this sweet picture of me hurdling the barriers! 

MFG #1 - Finn Hill Park

Well, the 2012 CX season has officially begun (not including the labor-day CX race which is more of a kick in the butt to get ready). Sunday the 9th was the first MFG race of the year and as usual was run at Big Finn Hill park in Juanita. Due to some construction and park changes the course was a little different this year but still contained the main features of this park; dry bumpy grass, some technical single track, and a fast paved finish track. This year is a little different for me as Stephen Berard will be also racing the open 3s and I get a little more yellow course buddies through Jenny Dallas racing single-speed ladies. Always nice to have some more of us out there! I am also racing this year on the Independent Fabrication Planet-X frame that I snagged last winter. I am excited to be back on steel after last year (don't get me wrong, the Van Dessel Gin&Trombones is an awesome bike, I just prefer the ride that steel offers). I should post some shots of the bike for the next post. I am very happy with the set-up, and think it should offer consistent performance all season long.

Onto the race-
Steve got a great call-up and started front row while I ended up in the 3rd row for the start. Not too bad considering our large field. Going into the first corner hole-shot Steve maintained a great spot up front and I managed to squeeze into roughly 15th or so through the corner. Laying on the gas I managed to push into the top 10 during the upper grass fields. On the short uphill climb I put in a strong push and joined the lead group of 5 who were just falling off the leader. We continued to sit about 10 seconds off the leader starting the 2nd lap where I squeezed to 4th, then 3rd, and finally moved to 2nd. I continued to work on the front but lost sight of the leader as we began to hit the slowest of the other fields. For the majority of the next laps I was weaving through the traffic and trying to consistently apply pressure to stay in my position and hopefully run into the leader. With 2 laps to go however, the traffic was beginning to cause trouble. In a few places I could feel the nipping at my heels of the rider right behind me (turns out that 3rd and 4th was always right there, hugging my wheel to stay in contention) and we started to leap-frog in a few areas. Starting the last lap I was in 3rd, however I easily swung back to 2nd during the technical grass section. Heading through the single track we ran into some slow riders which meant we all bunched back completely together. On the other side I tried to out-distance during the few grassy corners but didn't make much ground, and heading into the hill I had to jump hard to stay with the two as they powered past. I was now in 4th place but managed to get back to 2nd through the barriers. I just needed to hold on for another few precious minutes! We were catching some more traffic heading into the last grassy corners before the straightaway. I attempted to swing around a rider through the last sharp corner but he managed to swing back and block me! Unfortunately this let the other 2 riders back in front. I put it in the big ring and chased to catch back but unfortunately the race was already done as we hit the pavement. So, ended up with a solid 4th place on this one. Still, not a bad way to start the season and next race I will have a call-up so I won't have as much traffic to deal with the first lap, hopefully meaning better results!

Congrats to my current and former teammates:
Dave Ryan - 30th place Men's 3 45+ (Keep it up!)
Jenny Dallas - 3rd place Women's Single Speed (Way to go!)
Melissa Desimone - 7th place Women's Single Speed (Wahoo!)
Stephen Berard - 12th place Men's 3 Open (Nice job!)

Hope to see some more yellow next weekend for the 1st SCX series race at Steilacoom.

Oh, and thanks to Brian at rideonphoto for the shots of the race.

Back in action - 2012

Getting back into the blog here after a few years hiatus. This space will now be a spot for recounting races I have been to, talking about products I have had the chance to test out (mostly on my own dime), and talking about other cool biking goodness. I also hope to pass on some of the cyclocross knowledge I have picked up in my hours of digging through the internet and inquiring with other riders. While this may take on a cyclocross-centric feel, I will break it up with my road-racing exploits and talking about pro-racing when I have a chance too.
The next few posts will be from the last few months of racing cyclocross through the 2012 season here in the Seattle area. I competed in the open Category 3 races in both the local MFG series as well as the sanctioned SCX series. I also just wrapped up my racing season at the Washington State CX Championships, but you will get a chance to read all about that shortly.
Hope some of this interests you readers. Thanks for checking in -

Flash Forward

I realize it has been quite some time since I last posted an update. Sorry for the delay. I am now living in Capitol Hill, as I had mentioned the move in last posting. I finally found a job, or rather they found me. I am again working down at Speedware Motorsports, but this time as the web sales and marketing assistant. So, pretty much a better version of my old job. Not bad. I was actually kinda surprised at how quickly I got back into the habit of work, you know, especially after what was basically 4 months of odd job kind of work scheduling.

On the cycling side of life, I have my new bike almost done, where it has been for quite some time now. It is annoying because it is so close to being finished that I just want it done! That being said I have done a few rides on the Trek, but not as many as I would hope to have done by now. I keep getting new gear and don't really get to use it yet which is also annoying. Soon though, I'll get my bike all put together and figure out a way to ride it to my apartment so I can start using it to get to-and-from work, which will definitely cut my overall commute down.

Today is the start of the AMGEN Tour of California, so I am pretty excited to watch that. We have Lance, the new Cervelo Team, and the revised Saxo Bank to watch. Not to mention the fact that Mark Cavendish is already racking up sprint finishes. Should be a fun one to watch and a great year of cycling. Still kinda hoping that Leipheimer takes the win, he is such a great guy that he deserves to win his home-race. Alright, hope to see you on the trail.

Moving

Well, it is finally happening. Today I am finishing my move into Seattle. It will be nice to be in a place where I can meet up with friends easier, walk to bars, etc. However, I do end up giving up a lot of things too. Moving over the water means it will take longer to get to nice east-side rural areas to ride (and also means I have to ride on heavier trafficed roads for at least a little bit to get anywhere by bike), I have to leave the much larger home of my parents to move into a smaller apartment, my cat won't have the domain to roam and also lose my parents to play with (which he does a lot), and other little things. I figure that with any moving situation, these little faults of the new location in comparison will soon fade away as I become more accustomed to living there. I'm sure my cat will enjoy playing with his other cat friends again, and I am sure that being more freely able to hang out with friends will be nice for me too. Just need to actually get out there.

In other news, my new computer is finally up and running, which is wonderful since it means not having to worry about random shut-off while I am doing something, or losing messages from IMs when I leave my computer unattended. nice. It is also a lot faster than before and has more storage so I can mess around with playing more games and doing stuff in photoshop again.

Finally, working on getting a newe job going. Still haven't heard back from Emet's people about the potentially favorable job with Take 2, but I still hold out that I'll hear from them (Emet said I would be an ideal candidate for them anyway). So, hopefully I'll have a job soon. Until then, I guess I will go through a lot of my stuff and decide what I actually need to keep and what I should sell or toss. I also figure I'll help my parents clean up their house for awhile. Now that all the kids are moved out, seems like it is time to straighten things up a bit.

Well, thats pretty much the news. My new bike is coming soon, and that will be quite wonderful. Just have to wait until I can get to riding it though... Ok, time to go make some waffles. Ciao